It's not necessarily sheer idiocy: 1. Someone who doesn't hold a particular position absurd to make a sarcastic point. 2. Dogwhistle to the fascists, kleptocr

It's not necessarily sheer idiocy: 1. Someone who doesn't hold a particular position absurd to make a sarcastic point. 2. Dogwhistle to the fascists, kleptocrats, and ideologues. It maybe "tilting at windmills", but it's bluster "to impress the ladies". 3. An attempt to raise a proposal so extreme in order to gather press coverage.